Chapter 75
Bud sank into one of the lined up rocking chairs, and watched Harriett spend exactly ten rocks in each chair. She called over the clerk that had been waiting on them and told him which one she wanted and then was off again! Telling Bud that they had one more stop to make, she instructed him to stop at the party store in the mall. She purchased everything that she would need for the welcome home party for the next day, as well as several picture frames for the photos she had pulled out of their family album. By the time they finished at the store and drove out to the Admiral's house in McLean it was getting close to mid afternoon. They pulled up to find that there was a Federal Express package from the same photo shop in Florida on his doorstep also.
Bud watched as his wife once again opened something not addressed to her. Finding a similar picture to the ones she had found at Mac's, Harriett chose a place of honor for them. The eight by ten she put in the bedroom on the bedside table, and the smaller double framed one she placed on the mantle in the living room. Mikey met them at the house just as they were unloading the van, when Sturgis arrived Harriett asked him and Mikey to move the furniture from the guest room into the basement. While they were doing that she had Bud start to put the border around the room.
She was busy in the Admiral's bedroom, unpacking Mac's clothes and finding room for them in the closet and chest of drawers. Harriett also spread Mac's toiletries out in the bathroom. Just as she finished, Jen and the furniture van from the store arrived. Jen had brought pizza for everyone so no one had to take a break to cook or go get food. Everyone thanked her and then it was back to work.
The women were loving putting together the nursery when Sturgis suggested that Mac's car needed to be here too. Harriett thinking quickly said that they should take some of the Admiral's things back to her place and make it 'their' place in the city, when they were done with that they could return with her car. The guys took off promising not to be long. Bringing James' bassinet into the Admiral's bedroom, Harriett wondered which side of the bed he slept on, and then scolded herself for thinking about where her CO slept! But she needed to figure it out to know where to put the bassinet.
Eventually, she just picked a side and put the rocker in the room too, so Mac could rock the baby in here with the Admiral. Harriett then made up the tiny baby bed with the new receiving blankets; she also put the sweetest little nightie on top of the covers for her first night in her new home. Memories of her own baby girl came back to her and she sighed. Baby Sarah was both a painful and joyful memory, she hoped that the Admiral and Mac would be happy with their baby girl. Harriett knew they would be wonderful parents after seeing both of them with her two boys.
By the time the guys returned, Harriett and Jen were ready to start putting up the party decorations. Enlisting the guys to help with that they all finished about 2200. Harriett said that she would stop at the grocery store the next morning and stock the fridge for their return so if they were tired they wouldn't have to go out. All night there had been speculation and talk about how this situation was going to affect everyone and how hard it would be to keep up the pretence. Everyone agreed that this was going to be the hardest on Harm, as evidenced by his not showing up to help that night. Sturgis was wondering privately how Mac could have married the Admiral if she really loved Harm like she had told him.
To be continued….